Tuesday from his campaign headquarters in Hattiesburg, MS, Chris McDaniel, a candidate for the Republican nomination of Mississippi’s senate seat currently held by Sen. Thad Cochran, did not offer a formal concession in a speech following his apparent defeat in a runoff contest by a two-point margin to Cochran.

McDaniel told supporters that gathered at his headquarters something “strange” had occurred in this primary and he questioned how the outcome came to be, suggesting that his contest was hijacked by “liberal Democrats.”

“There is something a bit strange,” he said. “There is something a bit unusual about a Republican primary that is decided by liberal Democrats. So much for bold colors. So much for principle. I guess they can take some consolation in the fact that they did something tonight by once again compromising, by once again reaching across the aisle, by once again bending the conservative movement. I would like to know which part of that strategy today our Republican friends endorse. I would like to know which part of that strategy today our statewide officials endorse. This is not the party of Reagan. But we are not done fighting. We have fought too long. We have fought too hard to have a voice in this party. And today the conservative movement took a backseat to liberal Democrats in the state of Mississippi. And the most conservative state in the republic this happened and if it can’t happen here, it can happen anywhere. And that is why we will never stop fighting.”

He pledged to fight on until it was confirmed the contest for the party’s Republican nomination was determined in fact by Republican voters.

“As you know today folks there were literally dozens of irregularities reported all across the state and you know why,” McDaniel said. “You read the stories. You’re familiar. You are familiar with the problems that we have. Now it’s our job to make sure that the sanctity of the vote is upheld. Before this race ends, we have to be absolutely certain that the Republican primary was won by Republican voters. And so we will stand with courage. We will stand with judgment. We will stand with integrity and we will stand with dedication. This is our fight conservatives. It’s necessary for years. It’s necessary alone but we are not prone to surrender, we Mississippians — a strong and sturdy people we are. A brave people we are. A people that still can lead this conservative revival in this country and will lead the resurgence that begins right here in Mississippi.”